MOSCOW, May 26 (RAPSI) - Mechel’s creditors are ready to suspend Mechel owner Igor Zyuzin from management activity. Mechel is a major steel producer. Control of the group, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, could be handed over to the banks’ representatives, Vedomosti reports Monday.

As of April 10, Mechel’s largest creditors were Gazprombank, VTB and Sberbank.

“We are currently working with Mechel on restructuring the loans so that the company can fulfil its obligations. There is another option: the current owner could be deprived of his shares that could then be sold by the creditors to a new shareholder who could invest the necessary funds and improve the company’s operations. We are not proceeding with this option for now,” VTB President Andrei Kostin told the newspaper.

A source from another creditor confirmed that the loan committees are discussing two action plans regarding Mechel: a change of management to the banks’ representatives or a complete divestiture of assets.

Zyuzin refused to comment on his possible suspension from the day to day operations.

Mechel comprises producers of met coal, steam coal, iron-ore concentrate, steel, rolled stock, ferrous alloys, heat and electricity. The group operates on the Russian and the international markets. The company also holds a number of foreign assets.